ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
27 
The ears and also the eyes are very large, and these ani¬ 
mals are therefore very wary. The tail is generally long 
and more or less tufted. They are vegetable feeders, and 
are eaten in many countries. 
The Bandicoots, &c.—This group is generally illustrated 
by a common field-rat of a type slightly differing from the 
ordinary rats and mice. This is the sub-genus Nesokia , 
two species of which occur in Bengal, and the largest of 
which is known as the Bandicoot rat, Mus bandicota ; 
the smaller and more common form being Nesokia 
bengalensis , the burrows of which are unfortunately too often 
to be seen in this Garden, on the lawns and along 
the sides of the paths, and more especially near the 
feeding troughs of the ruminants and other grain-eat¬ 
ing animals. Their burrows are frequently regarded by 
Europeans as the work of moles, but these almost blind bur¬ 
rowing creatures are not found in India proper, being con¬ 
fined to the Himalaya, and the hilly regions of Assam, 
Cachar and Tenasserim. N. bengalensis , or the burrowing 
field-rat of Bengal, differs from the common house 
rat, Mus decumanus , in its teeth and in the form of its 
skull; the skull being shorter and more rounded than 
that of the latter, and the incisor teeth being much 
broader; but in other respects, as in the colour of the 
fur and general aspect, to the untrained eye, they would 
appear hardly distinguishable, the one from the other. 
This species is fond of water, and its burrows occur not 
unfrequently on the margins of nullahs and tanks. It is 
known to dive and to be able to swim well for consider¬ 
able distances. The burrows are usually about nine 
inches or more under ground, and consist of a number 
of runs passing from a main burrow which ends in a 
